Editor's Corner

This is not a case of blowing one’s trumpet. But we are persuaded to state the fact with figures and incontrovertible statistics from no less a body than the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The verdict? The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under Professor Umar Danbatta has performed creditably. At a time the overall national economy was hurtling down the slope, telecom stayed up, maintaining a bullish run amid a torrent of economic recession that swamped the nation.

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In this edition, we have carefully choreographed with facts and figures the sterling and resilient performance of Nigeria’s telecoms sector during the nation’s most challenging period hallmarked by general economic downturn, investor apathy and marketplace turbulence.

Analysts, from Bloomberg to stakeholders, projected that if Nigeria were to exit recession fast, it would be down to the elasticity of the telecom sector which is the undisputed enabler of other sectors. And it was so. Kudos must go Professor Danbatta for his legendary “regulatory flexibility”.

Also in this edition, we serve you sights and scenes from the birthday outing of the Commission’s Board Chairman, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, who turned 85 in February. Described as an “exemplary leader” by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, here is wishing our Chairman many blessed years to come.

This edition is a herald and it opens the window to what consumers and other stakeholders should expect this year. Besides, it chronicles with evidence the dynamism and brilliant performance of the sector for which all the stakeholders deserve commendation.

Come ride with us on a journey in performance.

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Quarterly Highlight

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the technology and telecommunication sectors in Africa and the Middle East will more than quadruple in 2018, from 2017. This is according to Baker McKenzie’s Global Transaction Forecast, developed in association with Oxford Economics. The report shows that M&A in the tech and telecoms sector in Africa and the Middle East was valued at US$1 .2 billion in 2017. This is predicted to increase to US$5.9 billion in 2018 and a further US$5.9 billion in 2019, before decreasing to US$3.9 billion in 2020.

The report notes that a more positive global economic outlook, the expansion of technology across industries, investment from emerging markets, and strong corporate balance sheets are the key factors in driving investment in tech M&A around the world, including in Africa.

Darryl Bernstein, Head of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg, South Africa, explains the predicted rise in tech and telecoms M&A in Africa, “Africa’s growing telecoms infrastructure and access to online services and platforms continue to improve access to the online economy. Increased local demand for innovative products, services and solutions drives offshore telecommunications and technology companies to target opportunities in Africa. The growing financial services sector has also seen domestic banks make significant investments in technology to advance their innovation agenda. African tech companies are also targeting offshore investments in companies that will deepen their access to new technologies, markets and talent.”

“The expansion of emerging technologies across industries, including agribusiness, automotive and of course fintech, will also drive M&A activity as we expect to see more cross-sector deals involving technology,” says Bernstein ....